Beth Foster-Chao
Farmer-first carbon removal
Image courtesy of Mati Carbon
Global efforts to combat climate change increasingly point to a critical gap: the need for large-scale, permanent carbon dioxide removal (CDR) to address the residual emissions that will remain even when net zero is reached. Scientists estimate that around 9 billion tons of CO₂ must be removed annually to meet climate targets. Today, we’re removing only a fraction of that, mostly through conventional methods like reforestation. Reaching the scale required will demand new technologies, broader participation, and more inclusive approaches.
At the same time, smallholder farmers, who grow a third of the world’s food, face mounting threats from climate change. Shifting rainfall patterns, depleted soils, and increased pest pressures are already reducing yields, threatening incomes, and putting local food security at risk.
Why Mati Carbon?
The Autodesk Foundation is pleased to support Mati Carbon, a public benefit corp that partners with smallholder farmers to improve soil health, increase crop yields, and permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Mati’s approach centers on Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW), a natural process where finely crushed basalt is applied to farmland. As the rock reacts with water and atmospheric CO₂, it creates stable carbon compounds stored in the soil. At the same time, the process releases essential nutrients that improve soil fertility and support plant health.
Mati sources basalt dust locally and applies it to farmer fields at no cost. A key aspect of Mati’s solution is developing tailored and scalable Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) platforms for diverse agro-ecological zones (soil types). In each zone, MRV stacks are built through field trials, soil sampling, model training, and local leadership development.
Mati’s vision is to achieve planetary scale carbon removal while building climate resilience and economic opportunity for 100 million smallholder farmers in the Global South by 2040.
Image courtesy of Mati Carbon
To date, Mati has worked with more than 20,000 farmers across 200+ villages in India, Zambia and Tanzania, applying 200,000 tons of basalt and removing 18,000 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere. In 2024 alone, farmers saw a collective income increase of over $4.5 million.
Collaboration with the Autodesk Foundation
As Mati scales operations and develops new deployment tools, Autodesk’s in-kind support can help accelerate and refine their processes. By using Autodesk design software, their engineering team can prototype and improve farm equipment more efficiently, reducing cost and development cycles. These tools will be especially important as Mati adapts its technology for new geographies and farming conditions.
“The Autodesk Foundation’s support is helping us design and develop new agricultural spreaders and equipment tailored for fragmented, smallholder farm landscapes. With Autodesk’s tools, we can innovate faster and operate more efficiently in some of the most challenging farming environments, bringing scalable climate resilience to the Global South.”
— Shantanu Agrawal, Founder and CEO, Mati Carbon
If successful at scale, Mati Carbon’s approach could support millions of smallholder farmers in building more resilient, productive farms while contributing to urgently needed carbon removal at a global level.
Learn more about how Mati Carbon is using Enhanced Rock Weathering to support farmers and remove carbon.